Jaipur: Income tax raids on wedding planners expose murky hawala-crypto nexus, officials seize Rs 20 crore in cash and jewelry

In a startling development, the income tax raids on major wedding planners across Jaipur have exposed a murky network of hawala transactions and cryptocurrencies. According to a report by the Economic Times, the officials have seized Rs 20 crore in cash and jewelry and frozen as many as three crypto wallets.

The report says that the wedding planners under the scanner allegedly converted payments received from their clients into cryptocurrencies. They reportedly used hawala networks to transfer the funds, the officials discovered.

According to media reports, income tax officials raided the premises of over 20 wedding planners across Jaipur. During the search operations, the I-T teams unearthed secret crypto accounts of Stablecoin and Bitcoin.

A NewsX report said three crypto wallets were discovered. While two were linked to local platforms, one was being operated via an international network, the report added. Undocumented cash was routed through hawala networks and converted into cryptocurrency, the officials found.

Once the cash was converted into cryptos, the funds were moved to international platforms. The report said that despite stringent KYC norms, the accused found loopholes to bypass the networks and transfer funds.

The probe so far has revealed that a vast network of wedding planners, caterers, hoteliers, flower vendors and other decorators is allegedly using such methods to transfer undocumented funds. The I-T officials are using WhatsApp chats, spreadsheets and emails to establish a digital cash trail for these transactions.

Officials say that the Jaipur revelations could be just the tip of the iceberg with extensive links to other key metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

As per the official norms of income tax, no individual can receive more than Rs 2 lakh in cash in a single transaction or from one person during one payment.